[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zenpinball-earthdefense_6780.jpg]][[caption-width-right:350:"Earth Defense", one of the original ''Zen Pinball'' tables.]]

'''''[[http://www.zenpinball.com/ Zen Pinball]]''''' and '''''[[http://www.pinballfx.com/ Pinball FX]]''''' are a series of games for playing DigitalPinballTables by Creator/ZenStudios. Most of the games[[note]]except for ''Zen Pinball: Rollercoaster'' and ''Zen Pinball: Inferno''[[/note]] are frameworks where players can purchase and download new pinball tables over time. The games support features such as local and online multiplayer play, slow motion, mid-game saves, and online leaderboards and tournament competitions.

Despite the name differences, the games are fundamentally the same; "Pinball FX" is used for games on Microsoft systems, while "Zen Pinball" is for versions on other platforms. Most of the tables are available for both series.

The first title in the series was ''Pinball FX''. It was published by Microsoft Game Studios on XboxLiveArcade in 2007, and initially came with three tables ("Speed Machine", "Agents", and "Extreme"). Six other tables were released later as downloadable content.

In 2008, Zen released the first ''Zen Pinball'' games, ''Zen Pinball: Rollercoaster'' and ''Zen Pinball: Inferno''. They were games for [[UsefulNotes/IOSGames Apple's iOS devices]], and unlike the other titles in the series, these were standalone apps with no facility for downloading additional tables.

In 2009, Zen released ''Zen Pinball'' on the PlayStationNetwork, making it the first pinball game on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3. It came with four tables ("Earth Defense", "El Dorado", "Epic Quest", and "Excalibur"), with others released later. The game was subsequently released on [[UsefulNotes/AndroidGames Android devices]] as ''Zen Pinball THD'' and the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS as ''Zen Pinball 3D'' in 2011. A version of ''Zen Pinball'' was also released for iOS devices, with proper support for downloadable tables.

''Pinball FX 2'' was released in 2010 for the UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}}, then later [[UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows Windows 8]] in 2012 (which was revamped in October 2014 after being neglected), Steam in 2013, and Windows Phone will have it [[DevelopmentHell at some point in the future]], while ''Zen Pinball 2'' was released in 2012 for the PlayStation 3 and UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita, then later UsefulNotes/WiiU and UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 in 2013. These are upgrades to the original titles, with an improved game engine and support for more features. The games are backwards compatible with the originals, allowing owners to import their tables.

Zen's pinballs tend to be LicensedPinballTables, with properties from popular ComicBook and ScienceFiction assets. Although the playfield physics are realistic, the games also feature liberal use of VideoGame-only effects, such as wandering enemies to be destroyed with balls or attention-grabbing animations over the playfield.

'''Note''': As new Works pages are created for the various Zen Pinball tables, be sure to add them here and on the DigitalPinballTables page.

----!!The following pinball tables are available for the various ''Pinball FX'' and ''Zen Pinball'' games:[[index]]* ''Earth Defense''* ''Epic Quest''* ''Excalibur''* ''Iron & Steel'', a bundle of two tables:** ''[=CastleStorm=]''** ''Wild West Rampage''* ''Mars''* The ''Marvel Pinball'' series:** ''Marvel Pinball'', a bundle of four tables:*** ''Blade''*** ''Iron Man''*** ''[[VideoGame/SpiderManZenStudios Spider-Man]]''*** ''Wolverine''** ''Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles'', a bundle of four tables:*** ''[[VideoGame/TheAvengersZenStudios The Avengers]]''*** ''Fear Itself''*** ''The Infinity Gauntlet''*** ''World War Hulk''** ''Marvel Pinball: Captain America''** ''Marvel Pinball: Civil War''** ''Marvel Pinball: Doctor Strange''** ''Marvel Pinball: [[Selfdemonstrating/{{Deadpool}} ME!!!]]''** ''Marvel Pinball: Fantastic Four''** ''Marvel Pinball: Guardians of the Galaxy''** ''Marvel Pinball: Vengeance and Virtue'', a bundle of four tables:*** ''Ghost Rider''*** ''Moon Knight''*** ''Thor''*** ''X-Men''** ''Marvel Pinball: Venom''* ''Ms. Splosion Man''* ''Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Tribute''* ''Nightmare Mansion''* ''Paranormal''* ''Pinball FX Classic'', a bundle of four tables:** ''Speed Machine''** ''Xtreme''** ''Agents''** ''Buccaneer''* ''Pinball FX 2 Core'', a bundle of four tables:** ''Biolab''** ''Pasha''** ''Rome''** ''Secrets of the Deep''* ''[[VideoGame/PlantsVsZombiesPinball Plants vs. Zombies Pinball]]''* ''Rocky and Bullwinkle''* ''VideoGame/SorcerersLair''* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':** Super Sweet Pinball** Butters' Very Own Pinball* The ''Star Wars Pinball'' series:** The ''Star Wars'' three table bundle:*** ''Boba Fett''*** ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars''*** ''Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back''** The ''Balance of the Force'' three table bundle:*** ''Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi''*** ''Star Wars: Starfighter Assault''*** ''Star Wars: Darth Vader''** The ''Heroes Within'' four table bundle:*** ''Han Solo''*** ''Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope''*** ''Star Wars Pinball: Droids''*** ''Star Wars Pinball: Masters of the Force''* ''Street Fighter II Tribute''* ''Super League Football'' (with the following designs)** Zen Studios F.C.[[note]]Default design that is not mentioned by name by the table's announcer; it is only referred to by the table's name. It is a fictional team based on the developer itself.[[/note]]** Liverpool F.C.** Arsenal F.C.** Real Madrid C.F.** FC Barcelona** Juventus** A.S. Roma** A.C. Milan* ''The Walking Dead''* ''Zen Classics'', a bundle of four tables:** ''El Dorado''** ''V12''** ''Tesla''** ''Shaman''[[/index]]----!! ''Zen Pinball'' and ''Pinball FX'' contain examples of:* {{Catchphrase}}: Most of the tables have a voice clip of someone saying, "Fantastic!"* DigitalPinballTables* EvilIsHammy: The villains on Zen's tables are prone to {{Evil Laugh}}s and yelling FloweryInsults at the protagonists.* ObviouslyEvil: With a few exceptions, such as ''The Walking Dead'', the antagonists never hide how evil they are. * PinballScoring: Averted in most of the newer tables (and some of the older ones). Even reaching 1 million points will take a good deal of effort. Played straight with ''VideoGame/SorcerersLair'' and ''Rocky & Bullwinkle'', where it's relatively easy to get scores in the hundreds of millions.* PlayerCharacter: The Zen Pinball line has a relatively high number of pinball tables compared to other companies' libraries, real or virtual, where the player fills an individual, specific, named role. The most obvious are the Marvel-themed tables where you play as the titular hero, though even its non-licensed tables will usually have a protagonist the player stands in for, such as Jake in ''Pinball/SorcerersLair'' or Creator/NikolaTesla in ''Tesla''. Even ''Super League Football'' puts the player in the role of the team's manager. Compare this to, for instance, Creator/JerseyJackPinball's ''Pinball/TheWizardOfOz'', where the player, though usually Dorothy, frequently shifts to other characters, or Creator/{{Stern}}'s ''Pinball/{{ACDC}}'', which has no player character at all.** NonPlayerCharacter: Many of Zen's tables also have entire casts of characters for each table the player character will meet, more pronounced in later tables when Zen's budget increased. Of note are ''Captain America'', which has all of Cap's Howlers and a military support squad; and ''The Walking Dead'', of which most of the characters met in the Telltale game's first season will show up in this one in some form.* SerialEscalation: Each table from Zen has more complex rules than the last, to where ''Super League Football'' has a campaign spanning multiple tries at the table. The budget for audio has also increased, going from in-house acting to stock voice actors to bringing actors and announcers straight from the source material.* ShoutOut: Zen Studios loves pinball, and it shows in their borrowing of physical objects present in notable pinball machines. Some are so similar in structure that they might as well be {{Spiritual Successor}}s.** The plunger lane in ''Tesla'' is identical in structure to that of ''Pinball/TalesOfTheArabianNights''. It also has a mini-playfield with magnetic flippers much like the Powerfield in ''Pinball/TheTwilightZone''.** The rotating block in ''Paranormal'' is based on The Bride in ''Pinball/TheMachineBrideOfPinbot'' and is put in the same location. The mini-playfield where the backglass would normally be comes from ''Pinball/BanzaiRun''. The Chupacabra captive ball functions very similarly to the Map Room in ''Pinball/IndianaJonesStern''.** It is admitted on the blog that ''Super League Football'' is a WholePlotReference of ''Pinball/WorldCupSoccer''.** The outlane gates in ''VideoGame/SorcerersLair'' functions just like the right outlane gate in ''Pinball/SpaceShuttle''.** The levitating ball in ''Paranormal'' and ''Infinity Gauntlet'' is likely based off the levitating ball in ''Pinball/PinballMagic''.** Chomper in ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombiesPinball'', when not used as a kickback, acts similarly to the cannon in ''Pinball/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' and ''Pinball/{{ACDC}}''. Hannibal's Payback Time bazooka in ''Blade'' has the same purpose.** The semicircular captive ball lane in ''Captain America'' may have been based on the identical one in ''Pinball/BabyPacMan'', as it's also in the same location on the playfield. The Howlers' sinkhole, with its accompanying standup target, shares its structure and location with a scoop on ''Pinball/TheLordOfTheRings'' (which is in turn based on the Catapult up-kicker in ''Pinball/MedievalMadness'').** The split-level design with a series of parallel rollovers just above the path sending the ball down in ''Extreme'' is a shared design element with ''Pinball/BlackKnight'' and ''Pinball/BlackKnight2000''.** The sign on the upper-left of ''Fantastic Four'' is built similarly and in a similar location to the rotating jungle in ''Pinball/GilligansIsland''.** The crane in ''Han Solo'' is based off of the Glove toy in ''Pinball/JohnnyMnemonic''.** ''Deadpool'' uses the criss-crossing ramp design that's a signature of Creator/MarkRitchie, particularly the kind used in ''Pinball/FishTales'', though it functions differently. Blind Al Mode turns off the lights and provides you with a glowing ball much like how ''Viper Night Drivin''' works. Ball locks are placed to the middle-left and middle-right out in the open, like with ''Pinball/StarWarsEpisodeI''.** The ball lock on the lower-right in ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' is based on the TARDIS in ''Pinball/DoctorWho''. The SkillShot involves pressing the launch button when a moving target passes by a stationary reticule, which was previously used in Creator/DataEast's ''[[Pinball/StarTrekDataEast Star Trek]]''.** The Everett mini-playfield in ''The Walking Dead'' has a layout very similar to the attic in ''Pinball/HauntedHouse'', including a pair of flippers that point away from each other. "A New Day" is a mode centered around the bumpers that asks you to earn a certain score within a time limit with scoring greatly increased, traits it shares in common with ''Pinball/MonsterBash'''s "Mummy Mayhem."** The layout of ''Venom'' is inspired by a real-life dual playfield table called ''Blackwater 100''.* SignatureStyle: Most tables have the following in common:** Three or more flippers.** Narrow shots or wide but steep ramps.** Side ramps that loop back to the same upper flipper.** Multi-level playfields.** Modes that do not stack (once an objective is asked, all other things are disabled and worth minimal points).** Nearly all required modes are either multiballs or {{Timed Mission}}s.** A lot of {{Spelling Bonus}}es.** Very strong emphasis on ramps (always at least 3, with as many as 5).** A playfield longer and wider than a normal machine.** At least one multiball mode required to reach a WizardMode.** Multi-stage wizard modes that are very hard to reach.** Generous and easy-to-obtain ball savers.** A kickback on both outlanes, activated by lighting an insert on the outlanes and inlanes.** A manual plunger. ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' is the only table to date to use a button-style ball launch.*** {{Skill Shot}}s requiring soft plunges.** A {{cap}} of 10x end-of-ball bonus multiplier, with an extra ball given after that. On many tables, this is the only way of obtaining an extra ball.** Flippers at a high angle when held, leading to easy ball catches.** Use of slingshots to start certain modes (most physical pinball machines use slingshots only to send the ball out of control). In addition, slingshot hits tend to be worth more on Zen's tables than those of other designers.** Downplayed use of bumpers, which are placed close together leading to lots and lots of bumper hits when the ball ''does'' reach them.** As of late, characters standing on the apron watching the game. Justified, though, as that's the least intrusive place for them to be.----